Microfocus Adjustment: Not a One Time Thing

[terrib]

I've not had much opportunity to get out and shoot this winter but wanted to share a few shots before and after a micro adjustment to my Tamron 150-600 lens and Canon 7d. C&C always welcomed.

After getting home from a local wildlife refuge in January and seeing my failure rate which I actually started experiencing with my Big Horn Sheep shoot back in November, I decided a micro adjustment on my Tamron lens might be in order and sure enough it was out of whack. It took me a while to blame the equipment instead of myself! I've had the lens since last May and it did a great job all summer. I took it on quite a few trips and worked it pretty hard. I don't know what is normal for lenses but I do think my Canon 100-400 has performed a lot longer without needing any tweaks. A pro friend of mine recommended that it should be done at least once a year or more often if doing big trips. He knows my shooting habits so I'm sure it depends on usage frequency and type of usage.

BEFORE THE MICROADJUSTMENT
These are the very best shots I got that morning and the focus is not terrible but it is not tack sharp.

#1 This guy was kind enough to pose for a while in the nice morning light. He was close and still and this is uncropped (except for aspect ratio) so it should have been very sharp at 1/2500th ss.



#2 White-tailed deer



#3 The cleanup crew. Black Vultures.



AFTER THE MICROADJUSTMENT

#4 There are distracting elements behind the bird but the focus is pretty darn sharp.



#5

[AlwaysOnAuto]

Terri - What is entailed in doing a micro adjustment and how exactly did you perform it?

[terrib]

Terri - What is entailed in doing a micro adjustment and how exactly did you perform it?

Well, first, your camera has to have the ability to do it.

Here is an article that tell the whys and a couple of methods of doing it. Your camera manual is also a resource.

http://www.ophrysphotography.co.uk/p...adjustment.htm

I'd explain it but they do it better and I may not know your camera anyway.

I actually didn't use this method but one suggested by my friend, Gary Gray. It was easier than me taking the time to relearn the interface for my Canon software. Here is a link to the method he uses:
http://www.have-camera-will-travel.c...etechnique.htm

[AlwaysOnAuto]

Thanks! I'll take a look at the links. I think my Nex might be able to use some adjusting if it's possible.

[Texas Dave]

I can't get your link to work.


BTW, I love your work.

[KimC]

All beautiful; that first one is just wonderful!

[Shadowman]

Nice series.

[terrib]

Sorry about the link. It is fixed now. And thanks!!

I can't get your link to work.


BTW, I love your work.

[Brownbear]

Thank you for sharing Terri. I've had this recommended to me to try by another member but I've always been too, intimidated to try it. Perhaps I will give it a try. The heron is gorgeous but I especially adore the image of the vultures for the setting.

[NorthernFocus]

I made the same discovery, Terri. Apparently when one is seeking that level of precision, even a bit of rough handling during travel etc. can alter the fine tuning of the lens. After all the internals are high precision mechanical devices. With my 500mm Nikkor, I've noted a slight amount of "drift" over time. Not likely enough to make any difference, but if you stay on top of it, then you can put that question out of your mind if/when you notice issues with images. On the other hand, I have a Nikkor 200-400mm VR which is much more mechanically complex than the prime lens, and it is darn near bullet proof. I've used it six seasons and every time I test it on various bodies it never needs adjustment. Go figure...

[Mike Buckley]

Though it's true that the first photo is not tack sharp, it is a gorgeous image and any deficiencies in the sharpness should be able to be corrected during post-processing without creating any artifacts.

[IzzieK]

I am like Christina, knows about it but scared to take it on. Thanks for the links, Terri...I will have a read of those two articles, then maybe push myself to do it since you have shown how good images looks like on the before and after...

[JR1]

I've not had much opportunity to get out and shoot this winter but wanted to share a few shots before and after a micro adjustment to my Tamron 150-600 lens and Canon 7d. C&C always welcomed.

After getting home from a local wildlife refuge in January and seeing my failure rate which I actually started experiencing with my Big Horn Sheep shoot back in November, I decided a micro adjustment on my Tamron lens might be in order and sure enough it was out of whack. It took me a while to blame the equipment instead of myself! I've had the lens since last May and it did a great job all summer. I took it on quite a few trips and worked it pretty hard. I don't know what is normal for lenses but I do think my Canon 100-400 has performed a lot longer without needing any tweaks. A pro friend of mine recommended that it should be done at least once a year or more often if doing big trips. He knows my shooting habits so I'm sure it depends on usage frequency and type of usage.

BEFORE THE MICROADJUSTMENT
These are the very best shots I got that morning and the focus is not terrible but it is not tack sharp.

#1 This guy was kind enough to pose for a while in the nice morning light. He was close and still and this is uncropped (except for aspect ratio) so it should have been very sharp at 1/2500th ss.



#2 White-tailed deer



#3 The cleanup crew. Black Vultures.



AFTER THE MICROADJUSTMENT

#4 There are distracting elements behind the bird but the focus is pretty darn sharp.



#5

I have adjusted my Sigma 150-600, I was not happy like you, it made a great difference

[chauncey]

Let me see if I've got this...you spend all that money on gear and spend the time learning how
to use it, and you don't bother with micro-adjusting that gear. Why not?

[JR1]

Let me see if I've got this...you spend all that money on gear and spend the time learning how
to use it, and you don't bother with micro-adjusting that gear. Why not?

If you "reply with quote" people will know who you are talking to !!!!!!!!

[NorthernFocus]

For Izzie and Christina, there is nothing to fear in attempting the AF adjustment. If you can't discern any difference or are unhappy with your efforts you can simply set the adjustment back to zero. No harm. On the other hand, if you are happy with the results you've been getting, no need to complicate life

[Loose Canon]

Let me see if I've got this...you spend all that money on gear and spend the time learning how
to use it, and you don't bother with micro-adjusting that gear. Why not?

Well for one thing it is not a given that it is even needed.

Typically it is a lens by lens issue, though on Canon it could be a universal adjustment if you are seeing consistent problems with all lens’.

And further, microfocus adjustment can only adjust the focal plane either backwards or forwards. If, for example you are shooting images where nothing is sharp this adjustment won’t help. Something else is wrong. Something has to be sharp (in the focal plane wherever its landing) in the shots for this to work. And again, the discrepancy needs to be consistent.

Also, microfocus adjustment is not guaranteed on third party lens’ on Canon bodies. It may work, it may work consistently, it may not.

The camera body will “memorize’ the adjustment for a particular lens but not for a particular lens serial number. So if you put a different copy of the same lens on the camera the adjustment may (probably will) be off.

It is best to carefully determine for sure if it is needed, meaning where your focal plane is landing relative to your focus point, and on what lens or if it is universal, before doing it. Otherwise you could easily exacerbate the problem.

[terrib]

Let me see if I've got this...you spend all that money on gear and spend the time learning how
to use it, and you don't bother with micro-adjusting that gear. Why not?

I'm not sure who you were addressing but I'll answer for me anyway.

As soon as I learned there was a micro adjustment, I performed one on my Canon 100-400 with my 7D, which by the way only needed a slight adjustment that I really couldn't tell it needed. I didn't see a problem with the lens but I went through the process for the sake of learning and to see if there was a difference that I couldn't see. When I got my Tamron lens, the images were so sharp that I didn't see the need to take the time.

I misunderstood the reasons for it needing to be done. What I mean is that it was my understanding that it had to do with tolerances in manufacturing and the differences in those tolerances between lens and camera needed to be addressed. I mistakenly thought that once those differences were addressed, I was done. It did not occur to me that over time it would get out of adjustment and need to be fixed again. It should have occurred to me but it didn't. And given my lack of confidence sometimes in my own abilities, as I was having trouble I tended to blame it on me rather than the equipment. But there was a point that the failures were so consistent and widespread that I finally woke up!

[JR1]

This does beg the question, what happens to/with cameras that can not be adjusted like this

[Loose Canon]

This does beg the question, what happens to/with cameras that can not be adjusted like this

I would have to guess (since microfocus is available on my body) either stop down to increase DoF or else take note of where the focal plane is consistently landing relative to the focus point with a particular lens and adjust by slightly re-framing after focus lock if its critical.

With Canon, microfocus adjustment increments are equal to 1/8th of the DoF of the particular lens wide open. So it is a very fine adjustment. Quite possibly one that only the most critical photographers may even notice.

Also I might add that it is not strictly an auto-focus issue. If there is a problem it can also be a problem in manual focus.